


In Your Honor

by fallenangel218



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-02
Updated: 2015-01-02
Packaged: 2018-03-05 00:23:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3098087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallenangel218/pseuds/fallenangel218
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Tim stands up for her at a bar, Ziva has conflicting feelings about the incident, and new feelings arise that neither of them expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Your Honor

The ER at Bethesda was surprisingly full in the middle of the night. Ziva sat impatiently, waiting for the nurse to tell her it was OK to go back and see Tim. A night out for drinks had turned into a bar brawl, and Tim had been injured badly enough for someone to call for an ambulance. By the time Ziva fought her way through the crowd, the ambulance had zoomed off with Tim inside. 

A quick call to dispatch helped her find out where that particular ambulance was heading, and she made it to Bethesda quickly. The nurses, however, gave her a hard time about getting back to see Tim, and instructed her to wait until a nurse came to get her. 

After two hours of waiting, a nurse stepped through the automatic doors. 

"Party for Timothy McGee?" 

"That is me," Ziva said, practically jumping out of her chair. 

"Right this way," the nurse instructed. She lead Ziva into the ER. They walked around wheelchairs and past empty gurneys in the hall, until they came to a room at the end of the hall with a curtain drawn across it. The nurse pulled the curtain, revealing Tim. 

"He broke his wrist, and he'll have a shiner for a week or so, but other than that, your friend got lucky," the nurse advised Ziva. "He's free to go." 

"Thank you very much." 

The nurse left, and Ziva rounded on Tim as he put on his shoes. 

"What were you thinking!" she shouted. "That man was twice your size! You would never have beaten him in a fight - there was no reason to start that fight!" 

Tim picked up his jacket and moved toward the door. 

"Let's talk about this in the car, please," he said calmly. "I don’t want to cause a scene in the middle of the ER." 

"Fine." 

Ziva pushed past him, and he sullenly followed. The drive home was not going to be pleasant. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

The first 10 minutes in the car were silent. It made Tim nervous that Ziva was so quiet. He scanned the car with his eyes, wondering if she'd hidden any paperclips. He was startled when Ziva spoke up at the next red light. 

"Why did you punch that man in the bar, McGee?" she asked angrily. "You were clearly no match for him... the fight was not worth it!" 

"Any fight is worth it when someone shouts ethnic slurs at my friends." 

"He was drunk!" 

The car behind them beeped loudly, and Ziva put her foot on the gas, realizing the light had changed. 

"I could tell you wanted to hit him, Ziva." 

"I wanted to do more than that to him. But I did not. You should not have, either." 

"That's exactly why I did hit him. If we'd sat there and listened to him any longer, you probably would have killed him!" 

"I would not have killed him! He would have been in a lot of pain, but I would not have killed him!" 

"If you put him in the hospital, I have to explain to Gibbs what happened." 

"He will still ask you... how will you hide that broken wrist from him? And the black eye?" 

"Crap." 

"I do not need a man to defend my honor, McGee. I can take care of myself." 

"That's a very ungrateful attitude, Ziva. I stood up for you because you're my friend, and you were being insulted. That's what friends do for each other!" 

Ziva pulled up in front of Tim's apartment building. 

"Here you are, McGee." 

"My car is at the Yard," Tim pointed out. 

"I guess you will have to take public transportation to work tomorrow, then." 

Tim got out and slammed the car door, and stormed into his building. 

~*~*~*~*~*~ 

_next morning, 0700 hours..._

 

The first thing Tim noticed when he got off the elevator was that Ziva was not at her desk. The second thing he noticed was Gibbs' glare. 

"What happened to you, McGee?" 

Tim dropped his pack next to his desk. 

"The truth?" 

"It would be nice." 

"Ziva and I went out for drinks last night. There was this drunk guy at the bar. He started insulting Ziva, shouting racial slurs and vile things. I uh, I let him get to me, and I shouted back at him. He came at me, and I punched him." 

"I can tell you didn’t win. Where's Ziva?" 

"She didn't come in this morning?" Tim asked, worried. 

"No. When did you see her last?" 

"When she dropped me off at my place, last night." 

"Call her right now." 

Tim rushed to his desk and cradled the receiver as he dialed Ziva's cell phone. He was afraid she wasn't going to pick up, until the fourth ring cut off. 

"What do you want, McGee?" 

"I was calling to make sure you're all right. You're usually here before anyone else," he said gently. 

"I am fine. I got a late start this morning. Gibbs is upset?" 

"Glaring." 

"Tell him I am driving there now." 

"Will do. Hey--" 

Ziva hung up before Tim could verbalize the rest of his question. 

_Today won't be awkward at all._

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Ziva arrived at NCIS a half hour late. Gibbs glared at her, and moved on. As she settled into her desk, she noticed Tim glancing at her from behind his monitor. She ignored him and finished turning on her computer. 

There was a callout - a Sailor found dead at his parents' home in Fairfax. The team was there and back inside of a couple hours. Tim volunteered to take the evidence to Abby when they got back, and Gibbs had no objection. He could sense the tension between Tim and Ziva all morning. 

Tim arrived in Abby's Lab and deposited the evidence bin on her empty lab table. 

"You look upset, Timmy. What's the matter?" 

Tim sat down on the empty stool next to Abby. 

"I went out with a friend last night for drinks. There was a man at the bar that was obnoxiously drunk and was shouting rude things at my friend. I defended her, and, well, you can see the result." 

Abby gently hugged him. 

"You did a good thing. There's nothing to be upset about." 

"It's not the fight... it's my friend. She isn't used to men defending her honor, and she was kind of offended that I did it. I don't know what to say to her now." 

Abby smiled. 

"Does this 'friend' happen to be Ziva?" 

"Actually, yeah." 

"You could have told me it was Ziva. I wouldn't have been mad at you for going out with her. And second, you know how Ziva was raised and what she did before she came to us. Give her some space, and she'll come around." 

Tim didn’t say anything in reply. Abby put an arm around his shoulders. 

“You like her, don’t you?” 

“What? Of course I do.” 

“No, I mean you _really_ like her.” Abby grinned. 

Tim blushed. 

“Yeah.” 

“Just do like I said and give her space. You’ll know when it’s time to talk. Okay?” 

"I guess you're right." 

"I’m always right," she said with a grin. 

Tim kissed her on the cheek, and he smiled. 

"Thanks, Abby." 

"Anything for you, Timmy." 

Abby signed off on the evidence and Tim headed back upstairs. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Tim didn't talk to Ziva for the rest of the day. Toward dinner time, Gibbs suddenly looked up from his desk. 

"McGee, Ziva, go check on Abby's progress." 

Tim and Ziva exchanged awkward looks, and rose from their seats. Without a word or glance at each other, they headed to the back elevator. Neither of them said a word until they boarded the elevator. As soon as it started moving, Ziva set down the evidence bin she was holding and hit the stop. 

"We need to talk." 

"I'm sorry," they both said in unison. 

"I'm sorry for shouting at that guy. You were right. I was no match for him, Ziva. I should have ignored him." 

"I am the one who should be sorry, McGee. You were defending me to a jerk. It's just-- no one has ever defended me before. I usually defend myself. When you did that, I was not sure how to react." 

"Ziva," Tim said gently, setting down his own evidence bin on top of hers. "I did what I did because I care about you, not because I think you can't defend yourself." He moved closer to her. "I uh, I really care about you." 

"What are you saying, Tim?" 

He slipped his hand into hers. She welcomed his gesture. Ziva looked into his eyes, and she immediately knew what he was thinking. Before he could speak again, she leaned in and brushed her lips against his. He pulled her in and deepened the kiss. They let the kiss last for only a few seconds, and then slowly parted. 

"I guess that means the fight is over?" Tim asked, grinning. 

She kissed him again, long and hard. 

"What do you think?" 

**END**


End file.
